They are in the school hallways, the
classrooms and the teacher's hub. They swoop into our lives and
leave us awed and grateful. When there is injustice, they are there.
When there are insurmountable challenges, they are there. They are
the Superhero leaders among us. They have always existed, but as
teachers, we might not always notice them because they don't wear
capes and masks. Instead they use the powers they have for the good
of the school community.

Teleporting
A
super-empowered school leader has the ability to teleport so that she
can be in multiple places at once. I know that it is often
impossible to find any time in the day to complete the in-office
tasks. This makes it unrealistic to be out in the classrooms, but
time needs to be built in. I spoke with a director of a charter
school in Massachusetts last year. He said that the way he stayed
connected was through his set aside morning time. He blocked one
hour of time each day to be out in the classrooms. He refused to
take meetings at that time, and he made it sacred. There has to be
value placed on being visible in multiple places, not only to show
staff support, but also as way to keep a grounded handle on the
happenings in the school.

As a teacher, I
get excited about my projects to the point that they consume me. I
want to talk about them with colleagues and then I get more excited
as my students breathe life into them. Students thrive off of
feedback and recognition for their work. Teachers feel the same way.
No one should feel like they work in isolation or that their
students' work goes unrecognized. A large part of our culture at
High Tech High depends on staff and students supporting each other.
There is too much work to handle alone, and everything is better with
more people involved. One thing that keeps us connected is knowing
what other teams and grade levels are working on.

Last year,
before I began my first project on the Alchemist, Stacey
Lopaz, my school director, set up a tuning for me with 3 other
teachers. After the project was launched, she was able to come in
and sit with some students during a writing lesson. She simply
joined in as a member of the class. I know that as a school leader
there is a constant demand for time and the pressure to feel
connected to all of the classrooms and exhibitions and other events.
I felt like my director was involved in my classroom. The true
superhero leader makes being in multiple places no matter the demand,
look easy. It is with this ease that they are able to keep an entire
school feeling connected.

Mind Reading
The
super-empowered school leader has a developed skill to be able to
decipher actions, vague statements and intonation to actually read
minds of students, parents and even other staff members. I am often
amazed at the information that comes out of our Dean's office. She
functions as not only a disciplinarian, but also as a counselor, the
provider of a calm place or a simply a sounding board. Somehow she
is able to gauge when someone walks through her door what their needs
are going to be. Part of this mind-reading skills involves clearing
your own mind as a leader and tuning in completely to someone else to
be able to support them in whatever capacity they need at that time.

I
have watched our Dean spend an entire day trying to get to the bottom
of an incident among students. Recently, a Senior student, had been
accused by a fellow classmate of harassing her. They had at some
point dated so it wasn't clear what the entire story was. Shani, our
Dean, called him in to assess the situation. She stayed with the
student in her office for 3 hours. In that time, she knew the right
questions to ask to find out what was at the heart of the problem.
The student told her that he felt like he put up a light and positive
front to everyone at school. In reality he felt like he wasn't
living up to anyone's expectations. Often he felt depressed. He
admitted he had made negative comments towards his ex-girlfriend, but
he also discussed his parents constant fighting at home, and his dad
recently coming out of the closet to his mom. He talked about his
fears for what would happen after senior year, and he also talked
about wanting to change. The change with this Senior after their
conversation was immediately noticeable.

Shani
usually finds ways to work herself into the minds and hearts of the
students so eventually they come clean or simply unload emotions.
Sometimes that involves switching questioning tactics
mid-conversation or knowing when to stop asking questions and just
listen. A superpower school leader is able to mind read a situation
with students, parents or other teachers so that she knows the best
course to take.

Secret Identity

Part of being an
effective super-empowered school leader involves keeping your cool on
the surface, even if a crisis just occurred. If you watch Superman,
he doesn't panic when Metropolis is attacked. He quickly changes
into his secret identity and calmly deals with the crisis. A school
leader selflessly works behind the scenes and deals with the
uncomfortable and challenging situations for the betterment of the
school. They transform into another person, whose difficult work can
often go undetected. It often involves dealing with a crisis in a
way that does not panic their staff. It definitely involves working
long hours, but appearing calm when asked, 'How are things?' A
superpower school leader however doesn't ask for recognition, and
they often will shrug it off when it is given.

I asked my
current director what is one of the most difficult crises that she
has had to deal with. She said that one of the hardest parts of her
job is having to make and deliver a decision to let a teacher go when
they are not a great fit for the school. She said it is hardest when
the person is one who has tried to make changes, and is
well-intentioned. Delivering this news to a person that you have
hung out with socially as well involves putting on a brave mask and
having the extremely difficult conversation. However, the situation
has to be handled in a way that the staff or students won't panic.
Although the situation is extremely taxing for the leader, she knows
ultimately that it is in the best interest of the greater school
community.
Justice League's Moral Compass
Similar to the
outcome of having a secret identity, a superhero lives by a true
moral compass that involves always doing what is right for the
students. This can often be in direct opposition to what a parent
might feel is right for their student. In an extremely difficult
situation, it is asking one ultimate question, which is, “What is
best for kids?”

This year, our
school dealt with a situation in which a student stole an answer key
to a math test. When he was caught, he was instantly remorseful.
However, the difficult part of the situation is that this student had
gotten in trouble for multiple other things all 4 years at High Tech
High. He was on behavior contracts as well as academic contracts.
He had been given multiple second-chances. When you look at his home
life though, a lot of his impulsive decisions made sense. He lived
with only his mother who was verbally abusive and an alcoholic. He
had been kicked out of the house on different occasions and was
sleeping on different people's couches. In the independent meetings
with the school leaders and his teachers, we kept coming back to the
question of, “What is best for this student and all of the students
who know him and his history in class?” The precedent being set
had been, this student felt he could get away with anything he
wanted. Other classmates were frustrated and had shared that. I
felt, more importantly, we were doing a disservice to the student by
teaching him that there were no real consequences for all of the
violations he had. Together with the school leaders, we worked out a
plan to hopefully address what was best for all the students. We
decided he would remain a student at High Tech High, but he would do
his work off campus. He enrolled in two of his core classes at a
community college, works on two of his classes independently, and is
required to do an internship at a high needs elementary school.
After this decision was made, his mother called and left a very
disparaging message for our school director. However, what protected
our Director from feeling any guilt was that she knew, using her
moral compass, that we made the best decision possible to benefit all
students involved.

Not Always Enough

Even
superheroes, sometimes want more powers. I asked two school
directors if they were able to have only one superpower as a Director
what would it be. They both settled on the ability to stop time.
Their current days are sent trying to prioritize what they can get
accomplished in one day. What often gets pushed aside is the ability
to balance in some personal time. As the two school leaders indulged
their fantasy, they discussed how they would be able to go to the
gym, and be home with their family when the school day was over.
Both of these leaders were already superheroes as far as what they
take on during the day. However, even the greatest superheroes among
us, might still want a little more.